Upcycled Moss Heart Made from Recycled Packaging

Saving Trash from the Landfill with a Laundry-Day Craft

This post is part of the Do It Over Designers Blog Hop, where the challenge was simple but meaningful: save something from the trash or landfill by turning it into a handmade project.

I’m sharing an upcycled, moss-covered heart made from a packing paper envelope and—wait for it—dryer lint. Two things most of us toss without a second thought, transformed into a decorative piece that’s full of texture, character, and heart.

And somehow, like many of my ideas, this one began on laundry day.

This upcycled moss heart is a simple DIY decor project that can be used for Valentine’s Day, spring decorating, or everyday natural home accents.

This is where it all started — a packing envelope I almost tossed.

Why Laundry Day Is Where I Get Creative

I should probably write about laundry day every week, because you truly never know what will come from that one day. Maybe Laundry Chronicles is what I should really be writing.

If you’ve been here with me for any length of time, you already know this: laundry day is when I slow down just enough to let my mind wander—and sometimes wander a little too far. I start a load, head back upstairs, and suddenly I’m deep in thought, imagining what something could become instead of what it currently is.

Case in point: the week I completely forgot an entire load of laundry sat in the washer. For a full week. I cannot be trusted to go back downstairs once I leave. One thought leads to another, and before I know it, I’ve lost the plot and gained a very stinky reminder that yes, I did start laundry.

Have you ever done that?

Truthfully, these little laundry-day crafting moments aren’t always about sharing projects. They’re about my sanity. I need a creative outlet, and when I don’t have one, life gets messy—fast.

Saving Things from the Trash (and Negotiating with My Husband)

I’m always saving items from the trash bin—sometimes daily. Which means things tend to pile up around here. We even made a deal in our house: I can let saved items sit on the kitchen counter for two days. If nothing clicks, into the recycling bin they go.

When we removed our countertop, I migrated to the basement… and let’s just say it’s now a full-blown “I’ll deal with this later” situation. A disaster area, if we’re being honest.

Once this kitchen remodel is complete, I’m giving myself a little breathing room—and then I’m tackling that basement. Not a remodel. Just an organization reckoning.

Do It Over Designers Blog Hop – Save It from the Trash

Today’s project fits this blog hop theme perfectly. And I have to warn you—this one truly qualifies as making something from trash.

When I got stuck on what to create, I looked around on laundry day and thought, why not lean into it? That’s when the envelope, the lint, and the idea for a heart all came together.

So let’s get into this heart-filled—literally—craft.

Materials for This Upcycled Moss Heart

• Packing paper envelope (Amazon smile, Walmart, whatever you have—no judgment here)

• Heart-shaped cookie cutter - (I use mine more for crafting than cookie making)

• Pencil

• Scissors

• Hot glue gun

• Glue sticks

• Dryer lint

• Moss

• Skewer

• Embellishments

• Chiffon Ribbon

How to Make a Moss-Covered Heart from Packaging Waste

1. Remove any mailing information from the envelope, then unfold it so it lies flat as one large piece of packing paper.

2. Place the heart-shaped cookie cutter near a corner, trace two hearts, and cut them out with scissors.

3. Hot glue around the edges of one heart, leaving a small opening at the bottom.

4. Stuff the heart with whatever you have on hand. Laundry day left me with dryer lint—and honestly, I had a little wow moment realizing it was another landfill save.

5. Finish sealing the heart completely with hot glue to create a soft, pillow-like shape.

6. Working in sections, cover one side of the heart with hot glue and press moss into it. Flip the heart over and repeat until fully covered. Be sure no paper peeks through.

7. Hot glue a skewer into the bottom of the heart so it can be styled in different ways.

8. Embellish simply using what you already have. I tried going bold, but a simple bow felt just right. Sometimes less really is more.

9. Lightly spray the moss with hairspray or seal with Mod Podge spray to help keep shedding under control.

This moss heart reminds me of a sucker for some reason.

No eating. 😉

Don't Forget to Pin for Later!

Tracing? Why yes, we will go back to grade school crafts today

I am a low tech crafting kind of gal

Two hearts that beat as one ♭

Dryer lint, I am not sure it's right or wrong, but I am using it

Who knew I could come up with a reason to drag lint from the dryer vent to craft with?

Looks like a heart pillow to me

Drizzle hot glue all over the heart, one side at a time

Doesn't look like much, but I promise this moss will look like a heart

Be careful with hot glue, you know I always burn myself

Now we're seeing where this project is heading, cute moss heart 

Use what you have, I can trace tin cans all day long 

I do love a good accordion folded book page

Paint pens are great for small projects like this

For me, this was visually overwhelming, but embellish away my friend 

Ways to Decorate and Use Your Upcycled Heart

• Skip the single bloom for Galentine’s Day and gift one of these instead. Flowers fade—this sticks around.

• Make several in different sizes and tuck them into flower arrangements.

• Create a heart topiary for each place setting and place it in a small flower pot or even a salt cellar for guests to take home.

• Add curled ribbon spirals and group several hearts at varying heights inside a vase.
  

• How about placing one single moss heart in a decorative tin can for a simple arrangement (see below).  

Cutest Moss Heart I ever did see, I finally figured out how to make flowers from book pages

Why I Love Crafting with What I Already Have

You may be wondering why I used moss. The answer is simple—it’s what I had on hand. And that’s really the heart of this blog hop: finding creative ways to reuse what’s already around us.

If you know my husband, you know he was trying his darndest to toss that envelope into the trash. He tells me I have too much, and he may not be wrong—but don’t tell him I said that. We have to keep a little sparkle in the marriage, and I enjoy hassling him about saving things from the landfill.

I always gravitate towards neutrals, they calm me

Funny enough, he’s become more aware over time. He even brings me home trash from work now—the more unusual, the better. And I appreciate every bit of it.

Saving things from the landfill might test his patience, but it keeps my creativity alive. And I think that’s worth a little mess.

Styled DIY Moss Heart with WWII Artillery Shell Basket and Beagle photo

One Last Question for You

Do you come here for crafting ideas, upcycling inspiration, or do you simply enjoy wandering around my little wonderland of making things?

I’m looking ahead to 2026 and want to be intentional—even if I do tend to have too many ideas swirling around in my head. Reply to my email, leave a comment, or send me a message on social. I truly want to know.

Now, don't forget to visit my Do It Over Designer Friends! Check out their blog posts below. 

Birdz of a Feather

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Little Vintage Cottage

Modern on Monticello

Pandora’s Box

Purple Hues & Me

Sum of Their Stories

Vintage Style Gal

The Apple Street Cottage

Ciao,

Cara